The history and prehistory of West Virginia reveal a fascinating journey from ancient Native American cultures to its role in America’s story. Prehistoric sites, such as the Grave Creek Mound, showcase the region’s mound-building cultures that left behind impressive burial mounds and earthworks. Later, European settlers ventured into the rugged Appalachian Mountains, forging frontier communities and thriving amidst challenging terrain. During the American Civil War, West Virginia famously seceded from Virginia to remain loyal to the Union, becoming the 35th state in 1863. Coal mining played a vital role in shaping West Virginia’s economy and identity, fueling America’s industrial growth and leaving a lasting legacy in the state’s communities and culture. Today, visitors can explore historic towns, Civil War battlefields, and preserved pioneer homesteads that tell the rich, enduring story of West Virginia’s resilient spirit and deep mountain roots.
QUNNIMONT, W.Va. — The New River Gorge National Park and Preserve in West Virginia is a treasure trove of sights, where forested mountain walls conceal ghost towns, industrial ruins, and lost historical gems. An overlooked monument in the gorge Some sights require more effort to find than others, however, though travelers on WV-41 passing through … Read more
SHEPHERDSTOWN, W.Va. — The eastern panhandle of West Virginia reaches more than 100 miles across the eastern U.S. from the quiet springs of the Potomac River in central West Virginia to the urban edge of Washington, D.C. How did this oddity come to be? More than anything else, according to a resident historian of the … Read more
WEIRTON, W.Va — West Virginia’s remarkable shape is partly defined by its odd northern panhandle, a finger of land that extends northward more than 60 miles from the central region of the state. The early history of the northern panhandle of West Virginia Home to its first capital, at Wheeling, the origins of the northern … Read more
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — While known for its forests and cool mountain air, West Virginia has nonetheless endured its share of blistering summer heat. The following is an overview of its most significant heat waves and an examination of how West Virginia can benefit economically from investing in its traditionally cool summer temperatures. Early 20th Century … Read more
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — The Mountain State is a land stitched together by rugged mountains, close-knit towns, and a complicated economic past. Yet for generations, one thread has consistently united its people—basketball in West Virginia. The legacy of Jerry West and basketball in West Virginia From the dusty courts of coal camps to the polished hardwood … Read more
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Shaped by rugged mountains and winding rivers, West Virginia has endured some of the most catastrophic floods in American history. Its five worst floods—measured by lives lost, destruction caused, and lasting impact—include the Buffalo Creek Disaster of 1972, where a coal slurry dam failure killed 125 people; the Election Day Floods of … Read more
CHARLES TOWN, W.Va. — On December 1, 1859, abolitionist John Brown, having been convicted and sentenced to death for planning and executing an uprising in Harpers Ferry, Virginia, delivered a final statement to his jailer that he wished to be shared with the public: The final hours of abolitionist John Brown “I, John Brown, am … Read more
LOGAN, W.Va. — By the time the world would come to know him as “Devil Anse,” Anderson Hatfield had already left a significant mark on West Virginia—not for bloodshed or bullets, but for business. Long before the famous Hatfield-McCoy feud erupted into violence, Hatfield was a man caught between two worlds—the self-reliant, traditionalist Appalachia of … Read more
BUFFALO, W.Va. — Samantha Jane Atkeson was a teenager when she had to face down Union soldiers searching her home in Buffalo, West Virginia, on the Kanawha River in Putnam County. A few torn and stained pages of her journal are preserved in the Clements Library in Ann Arbor, Michigan. They recount the story of … Read more
UNION, W.Va. — While slavery had only a minor impact in most of what’s now West Virginia before the Civil War, slaves represented about 10 percent of the people residing in Monroe County at the beginning of the conflict. The importance of slave labor to the local economy certainly influenced the political opinions of that … Read more
